Jetsons Age Beckons, But Opinion Split on Driverless Car, Drones

A new study from tech company Intel shows American opinion is split on whether “smart cities” are indeed a smart idea — but the half who are on board are willing to trade some privacy for a more wired future. Intel, which is working on smart-city technology, surveyed 12,000 respondents in eight countries last summer. The company’s report released Tuesday broke out responses for Americans in particular.

For some, the dream of the future is an interconnected utopia of self-driving cars that know which parking spaces are empty; the reality of today is that revelations like Edward Snowden’s remind us personal data may be leaked or exploited.